Portland doublespeak

Willamette Week is reporting that the attempt to repeal what the City calls "Voter Owned Elections" likely has failed.

The program was originally called "Clean Money" but none of the commissioners could identify anyone--or admit to--taking "dirty" money. From this backseat fumbling was conceived "Voter Owned Elections."

But wait, are they really voter owned? Of course not. They are taxpayer financed and there is no ownership to speak of. Almost every voter pays taxes, but not every taxpayer is a voter. This is typical of Erik Sten's initiatives: a complicated programs that shift dollars from tax payers to tax consumers with ownership in quotes.